Snyder, Gary

Passage Through India: An Illustrated Edition with: Ephemera

ISBN: 9781593761783
Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint Press/ Shoemaker & Hoard, 2007. First Softcover Edition Thus. Softcover. "In 1962, after studying Buddhism in Japan, Gary Snyder and poet Joanne Kyger joined Allen Ginsberg and his companion Peter Orlovsky for a long trip to India "to see the hearth-land of the Buddha's teachings." As always, Snyder kept extensive journals of his travels and, in this particular case, also wrote the whole account in one long letter to his sister. Passage Through India brings both together in celebration of and reverence for India and its teachings...Complete with more than one hundred photos from Snyder's personal collection, Passage Through India is an opportunity to join one of our most heralded and beloved poets on a great spiritual journey under "an eternal sky of stars, and on a beginningless earth." " (from back cover) Originally published under the title "Now India" in a different form in a literary journal during 1972, & again in lesser form during 1983, this new edition chronicles Snyder & Co.'s India sojourn with many more heretofore unpublished photographs. The great original Beat Generation- San Francisco Renaissance poet is the last survivor of this illustrious traveling group, ninety years old as of this writing. With Snyder's introductions to this & the 1983 edition. A deep, rich testament to the ancient & living history, culture & religion to which the poet has been so devoted. We can presume that the places, people & experiences recorded here overlap with Ginsberg's Indian Journals & other writings. First large-format softcover edition thus, first printing as indicated by number sequence on copyright page, published simultaneously with a hardcover edition. From the library of Thomas Rain Crowe, the esteemed American poet & publisher who was at the center of the Baby Beat Generation/ Second San Francisco Renaissance during the 1970s (see our book, Starting from San Francisco, item No. 3071, Deluxe Edition No. 3075). During that time & place, Crowe was mentored by & collaborated with Snyder, & was involved in Snyder's Kuksu literary-environmental movement in rural northern California, as he discusses at length in SFSF. Included is a loose sheet, folded once horizontally, with a copy of a page from the April 23, 2018 issue of The New Yorker magazine featuring a letter to the editor from Snyder regarding firearms & sport shooting. The copy is rather blurry but fairly legible, & a relic of Crowe's ongoing interest in his legendary friend & mentor. A most desirable & rewarding collectible in the vast Snyder canon, with very significant association & provenance. In very fine condition with only the slightest rubbing to glossy front, back covers & spine; a few tiny bumps, creases at corners of same; just a bit of rubbing to lower edge of text block closest to right corner- side edge. Interior very fine with only small, faint bumps at lower corners of some page leaves; tiny bumps at upper corners of a few of same. Ephemera in very fine condition, folded once as noted above with attendant crease; Crowe's asterisk & underlining of Snyder's name in red ink; date of issue in black ink. Very Fine. [Item #3579]

Price: $25.00